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A26
commentary
Sunday Guardian www.guardian.co.tt June 21, 2015
Housing Minister
Dr Roodal Moonilal,
centre, flanked by
Minister of State in
the Ministry of
Finance Rudy
Indarsingh and
President of the
National Union of
Government and
Federated Workers,
James Lambert,
second from right,
with members of
the All Trinidad
General Workers
Trade Union during
their Labour Day
celebrations in
Couva on Friday.
PHOTO: MARCUS
GONZALES
MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT BEAT
One of the reasons, if not the main one,
for most of our traffic problems was the
scrapping of Trinidad s railway network in
1968.
This resulted in the thousands who used
to travel by rail now having to travel by
road, adding to the rapidly increasing vol-
ume of traffic on our roads.
The trains used to handle much of the
passenger and commercial traffic in Trinidad
and serviced all the major population corri-
dors in the country---Sangre Grande to Port-
of-Spain; Port-of-Spain to San Fernando;
Jerningham to Rio Claro; San Fernando to
Princes Town; San Fernando to Siparia.
If the TGR (Trinidad Government Rail-
ways) had been retained, modernised and
expanded (say, to Point Fortin), it would be
handling much, if not most, of the traffic
now clogging our highways, and there
would be no need for water taxis and a
rapid rail system costing tens of billions of
dollars.
Almost all the countries in the world have
railway systems, which move hundreds of
millions of people, as well as freight, daily.
And unlike road networks, you don t have
to build more roads and add lanes to exist-
ing ones to accommodate increases in traf-
fic; you just add more carriages.
And unlike road users, train passengers are
not subjected to traffic jams, police road
blocks, etc.
Rail networks are, therefore, important
and valuable national assets. We had one
and we scrapped it.
Donald MacIntyre
Via email
Rail networks are
important, valuable
national assets
Five years ago the people
of T&T voted over-
whelmingly to make Kamla
Persad-Bissessar the next
Prime Minister of T&T.
It was a nationwide
endeavour and Tobago did
their part.
At the local government
election that closely fol-
lowed, places like Diego
Martin joined in support for
the People s Partnership
Government.
Since then the PP has lost
widespread support.
Many are looking at the
Prime Minister who in spite
of the losses remains popu-
lar. Was her reign a failure
or a success?
Will citizens be willing to
give her another opportuni-
ty to manage the affairs of
our State?
Kamla can boast of some
level of success, among the
many was her ability to
keep the coalition of politi-
cal parties intact for five
years.
She can be credited for
saying the appropriate
things and doing enough to
keep the perceived ills of
her administration from
contaminating her character.
She can boast of main-
taining the status quo with
regards to Cepep and URP
and maintaining the culture
of state benevolence with-
out much disruptions.
Among her major deliver-
ables would have been the
development projects in the
rural communities and the
completion of the Children s
Hospital and Sports Com-
plex in Couva.
Kamla s biggest failure
one may suggest was her
inability to recognise the
power, influence and charis-
ma of the person Kamla
Persad-Bissessar.
Throughout her reign she
seemed to believe that she
needed the support and
association with self-seek-
ing individuals whom the
nation viewed as people of
ill repute.
She failed to realise that
the people of T&T genuine-
ly loved her and would have
supported her without the
acquaintances of the indi-
viduals who attached them-
selves to her like political
leeches.
She seemed unable to
detach herself from the role
of a political leader and
assume the leadership of a
nation.
As a result, the institu-
tions of state that depended
on personnel of competence
seemed to have been filled
with personnel with politi-
cal and or racial agendas.
The five years of the PP
Government that could have
been one where the nation s
first female leader took the
baton and raced to the front
can be seen as one where
the leader took the baton
stumbled and fell.
In race relations, one of
the nation s most outspoken
supporters of segregation
was given a national award.
Many political appointees
from ministers to ambassa-
dors had to resign in dis-
grace or be fired from their
positions.
Many institutions of the
State that citizen s view as
apolitical have failed to
engender public confidence
due to the incompetence of
the personnel chosen by the
PP Government.
Moreover, the racial divi-
sion that one hoped would
have been reduced drasti-
cally by a prime minister
supported by people of all
ethnicity has been exacer-
bated due to the failure of
the PP Government to
effectively address race rela-
tions in T&T.
Five years later, traffic is
worse, crime is unabated,
justice is slow, infrastruc-
ture is in decay, public
services is laborious and
inefficient and the gaps
between the poor and rich,
Indian and African, PNM
and UNC have widened.
There are no major accom-
plishments in economic
planning, agriculture or
tourism.
Like most citizens of
T&T, I do not care about
the ethnicity or gender of
the person that occupies
public office in T&T.
I do care about their
competence as it is their
ability to execute the
responsibility of the office
without fear or favour.
On September 7, we have
an opportunity to put our
nation back on track or
continue the demise. The
choice is ours.
God bless our nation.
Steve Alvarez
Political Leader of the
Democratic Party of
Trinidad & Tobago
KAMLA AFTER FIVE YEARS
AS PRIME MINISTER